Cornwall Council has welcomed news that proposals for revised parliamentary boundaries will keep the six parliamentary constituencies wholly within Cornwall. 

A previous Boundary Review which proposed a cross-Tamar parliamentary seat, dubbed ‘Devonwall’, prompted an outcry from residents on both sides of the Tamar. The seat would have overlapped the county boundary between North Cornwall and North Devon and would have included both the Cornish town of Bude and the Devon town of Bideford. That proposal has now been dropped.

The previous review had sought to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600, but this review keeps the number at 650. It means that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has an entitlement to 5.97 seats – which has allowed the Boundary Commission to ‘Keep Cornwall Whole’ with six constituencies. 

The latest proposals have been published by the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) as part of an initial consultation which runs until 02 August 2021. Town and Parish Councils or local residents need to respond direct to the Boundary Commission for England. You can submit your feedback at https://www.bcereviews.org.uk

The results will inform a formal final report to the Speaker of the House of Commons before July 2023. 

Cornwall Council Leader Linda Taylor said: “These latest proposals respect the integrity of Cornwall’s borders and are great news.

 “The Council will be responding formally to the BCE consultation and we encourage residents to do the same to help ensure that the integrity of Cornwall’s border is preserved.”  

Councillor Barry Jordan said: “I am very happy to be conducting and leading this work as the Chair of the Constitution and Governance Committee, enabling people to have their say in the consultation.” 

Dick Cole, 2019-2021 Chair of the Cornish National Minority Working Group, said: “We strongly opposed proposals for a cross-Tamar Devonwall constituency and pressure was maintained on all relevant bodies. The creation of such a seat would have been in direct contravention of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which was extended in 2014 to include the Cornish.”  

“These latest proposals do not contain a Devonwall seat as the population for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly merits exactly six seats. We will be continuing to campaign for the territoriality of Cornwall to be safeguarded in legislation for future reviews – just as the integrity of the borders of Wales and Scotland are already protected.”